


Contrary Motion

by onceuponamidnightqueery



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Lesbian Relationship, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Lesbian Vanya Hargreeves, POV Alternating, POV Vanya Hargreeves
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:21:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28187583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onceuponamidnightqueery/pseuds/onceuponamidnightqueery
Summary: There had been some debate, some voices raised in concern, but in the end it had all worked out. Sissy came with Vanya to the future, and together, they are ready to start their lives anew. But as Sissy adjusts to her fresh beginning, Vanya realizes that her powers are growing. This fic, told alternatively from Vanya and Sissy's point of view, will explore how they navigate their struggles both as a pair and as individuals. Mind the tags (will add as I write and as I figure out how to use them), and enjoy.
Relationships: Sissy Cooper/Vanya Hargreeves
Comments: 11
Kudos: 29





	1. Subject

**Author's Note:**

> what is this? me planning to write something other than a steamy one-shot? let's see how long I keep it up. I'll adjust the rating as needed 'cause things might get gay later.

"Not again," Vanya muttered. 

She pulled at the hem of her once-navy button-down, as though running her fingers over the bleached fabric could restore the color there. It was useless, and she knew it- if only her powers could work in reverse. With a sigh of frustration, she carefully leaned the white violin against the back of the chair next to her, right beside the bow. The pale afternoon light sprinkled flurries of sparkles over its newly varnished surface, causing it to gleam like the face of the moon. It looked as though it were smiling at her. 

Well, the violin might be pleased, but she wasn't. This was the third time that week that she'd whitened her clothes while playing. Why did this happen every time? It was supposed to just be a little bit of practice, running through the more technical parts of her pieces for the next concert. That shouldn't be enough to trigger her abilities, and yet her closet was starting to resemble a bridal store. 

"Vanya?" Sissy's voice floated over from the entrance hall. 

"Over here," Vanya called back. 

"Oh, sweetie," said Sissy when she saw Vanya's freshly modified outfit. 

"That shirt was new, too," Vanya remarked, frowning. 

Sissy's brow furrowed sympathetically. Then the corners of her mouth twitched. "It's not funny!" Vanya scolded, but her own lips folded unbidden into a smile, and soon they were both laughing. 

"It's all right. How's Harlan?" Sissy asked. As always, a glint of concern flickered into her eyes when she mentioned her son. 

"Napping. He got worn out when we were playing. What about you?" 

Sissy's relaxed grin returned. "You mean did I survive the trip to the grocery store down the street? I'm fine. And we finally have food that I can work with." 

Though she would never admit it, Sissy's burst of confidence had surprised Vanya. For weeks she had been timid as a mouse, seldom leaving the apartment except in Vanya's company. Only recently had she displayed a sudden independent streak, offering to conduct simple errands on her own while leaving Harlan under Vanya's watchful eye. It would make things easier to have two people able to go out, certainly, but Vanya was mostly just thrilled that Sissy was getting more comfortable in what was, to her, a strange and futuristic world. 

She kept her thoughts to herself as she helped Sissy unpack the groceries. There were a lot of meat and potatoes and greens- not a lot in a box or a can. Sissy was quite comfortable in the kitchen. While working as her nanny, Vanya had often helped her cook, and they'd kept up the tradition ever since. 

Vanya's would-be pupil had cancelled their lesson for the day due to flu, so the two of them started moving around the apartments tidying up. Vanya began folding clothes, wrinkling her nose whenever she came across one of her white garments, while Sissy dusted off the tops of the cabinets and shelves. By the time, the light leaking through the window had taken on a faint purplish cast, the apartment was just about spotless, and they moved instead to making dinner. "You'll want to change," Sissy noted wryly. 

As she julienned strips of celery. Vanya stole frequent glances at Sissy. She was humming tunelessly to herself, her mouth still quirked up at the edges. She did everything precisely, purposefully, dedicated to the task at hand. The one time her gaze flitted up to catch Vanya's, a rosy blush blossomed over her cheeks. "What?" she queried in her lilting Southern drawl. 

"Nothing," Vanya replied, ducking her head. Sissy chuckled, and they quickly found a harmony as they continued their preparations, timing every component to perfection. When they started to plate everything up, Harlan emerged from the bedroom, rubbing his eyes sleepily. The three of them settled down to share the meal together in the tranquil evening quiet. 

"You know, I was thinkin'," said Sissy as they ate. "When did you want to move out of here?" 

Vanya shrugged. "Depends on how quickly we find a place. I'd hope by the end of the year, though. I don't want Harlan in that corner for much longer. He deserves his own room." 

Sissy nodded thoughtfully. "I'd like to help out with that," she said. 

Vanya's brow creased. "What do you mean?" 

"I was thinkin' about maybe . . . gettin' a job," Sissy commented. 

"Oh." Vanya's voice had climbed an octave with surprise. She quickly gathered her bearings. "You don't have to. I have some saved." 

"No, I'd like to." Though her tone was casual, her blue eyes flashed with incipient enthusiasm as she spoke. 

This was clearly something she had been considering for a while. The last thing Vanya wanted to do was disappoint her, so she nearly choked on her mouthful of mashed potatoes in her haste to reply. "Of course. Where are you thinking of looking?" 

"I'm not sure yet," Sissy confided. Now that she had Vanya's approval, she was clearly making no effort to hide how much the prospect excited her. Her face beamed with the thrill of adventure. "But I think I'll like it. Never really had much of an opportunity before, you know?" 

Vanya nodded in understanding, and they lapsed back into pensive silence. She remembered how happy she had been when she had finally gotten out of the Academy, finally had the chance to make her own choices. Sissy probably felt the same way, now that she had gotten away from Carl and the general rigidity of the sixties. She thought of their talk in the barn as they had shared a cigarette- silly, idealistic words about following their dreams and living out their lives. She looked at Sissy sitting across from her, a faint happiness lingering in the gentle contours of her features. And she felt a warmth spreading over her that had nothing to do with the hot food. 

When it came time for bed, they curled up against one another under the sheets. "I love you, okay?" Vanya whispered, leaning over to kiss Sissy's cheek before she let herself drift into drowsiness. 

"I love you, too," Sissy murmured in reply. She reached over and switched off the lamp. 

Late that night, Vanya's eyes flew open. A membrane of icy sweat clung to her skin, and her heart was thudding erratically in her chest like a landed fish. She glanced instinctively over at Sissy and saw that she was still asleep. She didn't get the sense that it was any sort of disturbance in the apartment that had roused her. Vanya had just been dreaming, she was sure of it, but the memory of it dissolved, smokelike, when she grasped at it. Judging by the pace of her pulse, it had not been a good dream. 

Slowly, careful not to stir Sissy, she disengaged herself from the covers. The carpet was rough against her bare feet.  
Guided by some strange desire to postpone returning to rest- she had a vague suspicion that it had to do with whatever she'd been seeing before she awakened- Vanya crept out of bed and into the main room, past Harlan passed out on his small mattress. 

Darkness veiled the cozy familiarity of the apartment with eerie mystery. Though the window was tightly closed, the cold air swept over her skin like frozen tongues and sending prickles down her spine. The mist of somnolence still lurked at the edge of her consciousness, blurring her peripheral vision into gauzy shadows in which anything could be concealed. But what might be lingering in the blackness held no interest for her. Her attention was immediately drawn to the violin, lying in wait at its perch on the chair. The thin moonlight limned it with an ethereal glow. 

As though in a trance, she approached it. The chill intensified the closer she moved to the window. She reached out and touched the body of the sleek instrument. The unnaturally pale wood was cool and smooth beneath her fingertips. She remembered the warm, oaky russet that it had once been, and she longed for it. The white was so . . . so empty. It was still hers, but the difference put her ill at ease. 

She harkened back to her concert, when she had first sucked all of the color out of her suit and violin both. At that point, she had been completely beyond herself. Too far gone, swallowed up in a storm of anger and envy and long nights of silent tears drizzling wetly down to her chin. She would have killed her brothers if Allison hadn't stopped her. She had ended the world. 

She then considered the stacks of whites clothes in the laundry. How easily they changed, compared to how long it had taken before the transformation took place first time. How every time she played a note, she felt the deadly energy that coiled at the very core of her being, ready to lash out at any second. 

She turned and went back to the bedroom. Before she left, she thought that the violin was smiling again.


	2. Second Voice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise this fic will get more plot with time. primary purpose of this chapter is to get used to sissy's voice and use my writer powers to forcefully insert my vissy headcanons. I'm a bit out of practice and didn't edit much but whatever.

"Pardon me." 

Sissy dodged sharply around a young man in a crisp business suit, then had to immediately sidestep a middle-aged woman in an overcoat. It was still early in the morning- the sky a pale slate color beneath the haze of green-gray smog- but the foot traffic in thd city was already significant. She was just glad that she'd had the foresight to leave Harlan at home in the apartment. He would have hated it all- the crowds, the noise, the smell. Of course, that meant she would have to hurry back before he woke up. 

Vanya had offered to leave her the car when she went to rehearsal, but Sissy had refused. Congested as the city sidewalks may be, she enjoyed the chance to stretch her legs, and the Academy really wasn't that far away. She'd been cooped up in Vanya's little apartment for far too long. As much as she was fond of the place, simply by virtue of it being Vanya's if nothing else, she'd been staying there for so many hours at a time that it was beginning to made her nerves itch. 

When at last the stately building loomed before her, rising gracefully from the earth between two stone lions passant, Sissy approached it slowly. It was insane- almost unfathomable- to think that Vanya had grown up in this mansion. It was a stark contrast to her own beginnings on a small Texas farm. She raised a fist and knocked on the thick doors, hearing the sound echo in the interior. 

Some seconds later, the space once filled by the door was occupied by a tall, hulking figure. "Hey, Sissy," said Vanya's brother Luther. "Come on in." 

Luther had been the first of the Hargreeves siblings that Sissy had met, but it hadn't exactly been a happy introduction. She remembered staring at him above the muzzle of the shotgun, adrenaline racing through her blood. As it turned out, he hadn't meant any harm, but the vestiges of that tense meeting stirred an instinctive distrust that she tried to flatten down when she looked at him. It may have been easier had his very physique not been enough to spark alarm. 

"Is Vanya with you?" 

"Uh, no. Violin rehearsal," Sissy explained ss she crossed the threshold. "I'm looking for Five." 

"Five?" Luther's brow furrowed. "I think he's upstairs." 

Sissy hesitated as she glanced up the staircase, certain she'd end up hopelessly lost. "Would you mind . . . ?" 

"Oh, of course." She followed him up the stairs and down a hall before opening a door on the left. Almost at once, a thin, reedy adolescent voice cried out from the interior. 

"Hey, shithead, ever heard of knocking?" 

Not bothering to reply, Luther stepped back and beckoned Sissy forward. The boy- no matter how hard she tried, her brain couldn’t normalize thinking of him as a number- was hunched over a heap of crumpled papers on a desk. His fingers were bruised with blue-black ink stains, and when he looked up, his green eyes were sharp and focused. "Right," he muttered. "Vanya said you'd be coming." 

He rose to his gangly height and, with a sizzle of bluish white, vanished. A moment later, he rematerialized on other side of the room, where yet more papers were heaped on a side table. He pulled some off of the top, then, in another burst of light, flashed over and offered them to her. "This should be everything you need." 

"Thank you," Sissy accepted, heart pounding in her chest. She tried not to think too much about why this strange teenager was in charge of the paperwork and tried even harder to maintain her composure after watching him disappear like that. Vanya had told her about each of her siblings's powers, but it was one thing to hear about in over a calm mealtime conversation and quite another to actually see it. 

He nodded, then sat back down and resumed his work. Sissy took that as her signal to go. 

Luther trailed after her. "So, uh, how's life in the city? I bet it's different from Texas." 

Sissy smiled dryly. "Sure is." Her gaze flickered up as they passed by the stuffed head of some kind of antelope, its empty glass eyes boring into her. 

"Oh, that's an oryx. Our father was into that kind of decor." 

"Take a big gun to bring down somethin' like that," Sissy remarked. 

Luther shrugged his big shoulders. "I wouldn't know. I'm sure you would, though." He gave a small smile, clearly recalling the time they met. 

Sissy nodded vaguely. The thought of the animal, of the burst of smoke and fire that must have taken its life, awoke memories. 

"No way." 

"How can you be sure? Just give it a try. Maybe somethin'll come back to you." 

"Sissy, I'm telling you, I don't know how to shoot." 

"Then I'll show you." 

Her hands hovered over Vanya's, guiding them into the correct position. Vanya bit her lip uncertainly, but there was a spark of excitement in her soft brown gaze. "It's heavy," she commented, shifting the weight of it between her slender arms. 

"You're plenty strong. Now, c'mon. Let's see if you can aim." 

Vanya hefted the gun up, but her attention remained on Sissy, quizzical. 

"How'd you learn all of this stuff, anyway?" 

"If you're askin', I'm guessin' you didn't grow up on a farm- or anywhere out in the country. It's just one of those things." 

Vanya hesitated one last time. "Is this really necessary?" 

"Vanya. Shoot the damn gun." 

There was a blast, and a second later, Vanya's arms were pinwheeling as she struggled to maintain her balance. Sissy quickly took hold of her shoulder to steady her. She almost laughed until she saw that Vanya's gaze was unfocused, her eyes looking but not seeming to register anything. Sissy tilted her so thst she would be looking straight at her- that is, if she were able to see. "Vanya? Are you okay?" 

Vanya blinked, appearing to recognize Sissy. "Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry, I guess I just . . . spaced out." She glanced up at the makeshift target that Sissy had set up. "Did I hit it?" 

Sissy glanced over and quickly located a small, dark smudge- not on the target, but high up on the wall of the barn behind it. "Not quite." 

Vanya saw it too, then giggled. Sissy smiled in response, and soon they were both going off like schoolgirls. 

"I'm pretty sure I've never done this before." 

"I'd have to agree." 

"And I don't think I should be trusted with dangerous weapons." 

"Y'know, you're probably right. Let's go inside. Harlan's really startin' to get attached to you, and I don't want to be the one keepin' you away." 

So much had changed. As of late, it had been as though Vanya was always the teacher, and Sissy, the student, green and hesitant and with a lot to learn. Well, that had been just fine for a while, but it would be changing soon. It had been buried under the weight of everything- Carl's sudden death, Harlan's near-abduction, time travel- but at last she felt ready to start living in this new world. And that meant, among other things, getting Harlan registered for school. 

A couple of hours later, Sissy sat back on a cushioned chair, holding Harlan's hand while a young woman in glasses reviewed the paperwork. "Looks like you're all set," she remarked. "Harlan, I'm sure you'll have a great time here." She shifted her attention to Sissy. "If you want, you can go check out the classroom. Room 201- it's straight back from where you come in." 

As she rose to her feet, Sissy noticed a stack of yellow flyers on the desk. The one on top brandished the message "Substitute Positions Open." The secretary followed her gaze. "Oh, we've been short on subs recently. District-wide thing." 

"I see," Sissy responded distractedly. Harlan started tugging on her arm. 

"Actually," the woman went on, lowering her voice conspiratorially, "what we need most is a long-term sub for special ed. One of the teachers just went on sabbatical, and word is that whoever was supposed to fill in just bailed." She looked up at Sissy beneath arched brows, the lenses of her glasses winking in the light. "You wouldn't happen to be credentialed?" 

To her own surprise, Sissy found herself inclining her head in affirmation. An idea was beginning to sketch itself out in her mind. She'd been considering looking into a job, but she hadn't been too thrillled at the idea of leaving Harlan behind. This . . . this could work. She could make it work. If Vanya's brother could produce school papers for Harlan, then surely he could get her whatever qualifications she needed. 

She took one of the flyers, thanked the woman, and stepped outside Sissy into the sunlight- noon was fast approaching, and the sky had ripened to a medium cornflower shade. A few cottony clouds scudded towards the east. It was a hopeful sort of day.


End file.
